John Poulakos, in his article Kairos in Gorgias' Rhetorical Compositions, gives several definitions of the term 'Kairos' in regards to Hellenic rhetoric. He says on page 89 that kairos is both a rhetor and audience phenomenon--for the first an "awareness" by the orator of an "opportune moment" and in the second a realization by the audience of the "timeliness" of the orator's words. Both orator and audience work kairos together, each playing off each other and (it seems to me) modifying the moment together. The orator must adapt his speech to the tenor of the audience and the audience consequently is continually manipulated by the orator.
Though this appears rather clear cut for spoken speech, I've been wondering about kairos regarding written material. If in speaking, kairos allows for customizing to the moment, for writing it seems far more rigid. Written rhetoric will either succeed or fail according to situational forces far outside the author's control. Does this make writing devoid of kairos? I don't think so. Rather, I think moments, movements, and periods come and go throughout history that continually put a written work in kairos flux--making it more and less "timely" in a given circumstance. Reading love poems while one is in love (or horribly depressed about not being in love) may increase the kairos quality of love poems. Likewise, reading about war in a time of war, or ancient rhetoric texts in the midst of a college class all seem to contribute to a sense of appropriateness and effect of documented sources.
What written items lack is the adaptability and consequently they are at the mercy of the fickle nature of kairos. This implies Art that is said to be great, timeless, or eternal is just fantasy; instead, its value must be interpreted according to the time in which it viewed.
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2 comments:
I like your take on this essay and the extension you have made into written texts.
I would agree that written texts are more subject to "changing times" and that a text that seems relevant or to speak to a given moment may disappear and reemerge as cultural/social discourses/contexts shift.
At the same time, rather than seeing the oral and written in opposition or subject to different degrees of "kairos," one could also say that the available means are also different...and that we need to think of writing not merely as an extension of speech, but as a mode of communication with different concerns.
That is, "kairos" is not, necessarily "in time" (kronos) while at the same time, it's about time, sometimes.
I also agree that texts are traditionally more vulnerable to the flux of time and lack adaptability. However, would you say that the "fickle nature of kairos" is eliminated with blogging/internet postings?
Technology and its editing abilities certainly put a spin on this! It not only gives new meaning to timeliness, but electronic works could also be considered timeless. As I said in class, blogging is new to me and this whole concept is especially fascinating.
Dr. Forysth also raised an interesting point yesterday when she asked, "How can you perform criticism on a text that isn't fixed?" Written texts for the most part are interchangeable, with the exception of new editions.
On the other hand, the internet allows you to post a work many times, places, and in different versions. This would pose many questions concerning the originality of the text and editorial decisions. Essentially, you could endlessly manipulate the text and as a result, reach many discourse communities.
This manipulation of the text and to an extent, the audience, reminds me of a courtroom. Perhaps, that's because I watched too many courtroom dramas today while sick on the couch! In court, lawyers take advantage of kairos in regard to legal rhetoric. They apply laws that were written long ago, but can still be applied and will continue to be at specific times, surrounding unforeseen circumstances.
On a final note, kairos also reminds me of the Tao or "way" that we read about last week in Ramage. The intersection of the kairos and kronos is similar to the divine intersection of the Tao. Although some of you may not view kairos as divine, it certainly is special. Therefore, I ask: How many kairos opportunities do we miss daily? One must wonder and that is why we must "Carpe Kairos!"
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